The New Age
by Niqyllion
Summary: Hiccup has left the Isle of Berk far behind him, no longer able to bear the spite and mockery of the village. Determined to never look back he now travels far and wide, but he's not on his own. People, all shunned and alone like himself, join him on his travels. With the wide horizon in front of them they set off for adventures. INTO THE GREAT BEYOND!
1. Prologue

Had you asked Hiccup if he loved Berk, he would have answered 'yes'. He loved the salty shores, the deep cliffs he occasionally climbed to enjoy the view and a pleasant sunset every once in a while, he absolutely loved the woods, in which he could scurry off and be... well, Hiccup. He even loved the climate, the thin air as it seared through his lungs, even if his feet nearly froze off. Had you altered the question a bit and asked him if he loved the village or the people that lived there, in each and every way would he have said no. Being Hiccup meant he could see the world from a different perspective, and not just because he was so small and scrawny for his age, but it meant that people treated him like an outsider. So much unlike their own, the clumsy, the incompetent, the useless. A sad, taunting nickname that stuck and was often thrown at him even if it was totally uncalled for.

Every day he would let his mind wonder off to the great unknown, the world beyond the icy shores, far away from this meridian of misery. With his thoughts a hundred miles away he frequently screwed up awfully and made a huge mess out of things, usually followed by an angry Gobber, the name calling, and a disappointed sigh from his father.

He'd find a safe haven in his art, a place where he could mess up to his heart's contents and not be scorned for it. It didn't matter what the subject was either, it could be a portrait, a rough sketch, or a blue print for whatever it was that came across his mind. He always enjoyed to put his brain, rather than his none-existent muscles, to work.

And he tried. He really did! But his efforts were never appreciated and they would backfire on him with the most horrid and awful results. Couldn't they just try to understand that he was doing it for their best interest? All he wanted was to help them, aid them in their battles... be accepted, or recognised for his efforts at the very least!

Hiccup thought his life would be forever stuck in this void spiraling down, always dreading what would become of him if he were to hit the dark bottom. He had nothing to hold on to, or so it seemed, just as he was about to slip down further he was offered a helping hand. Or... rather... a helping claw.

Up untill this day he thanked Thor, Freiya and every other God, Valkyrie and Deity that would listen to him, for letting him meet Toothless. Whenever he looked at Toothless, and the dragon in his turn looked at Hiccup, he couldn't help but be filled with warmth and gratitude that spread pleasantly from the pit of his stomach to every cornor of his body it could reach. Somehow this dragon had ignited something in him, and it continued to burn every waking and every dormant moment of every day.

At first no one noticed of course, heck he suspected they right out chose to block him out unless they could chew him up on something and spit it out into his face. Sometimes he felt terrible, hating himsef for feeling so bitterly about his tribe.

But after a while, it became very hard to simply brush it off, the villagers started to notice him. His way with the beasts, as Gobber liked to call it, drew out full blown crowds to the kill ring to cheer him on and roared with applause at each and every conquest.

Hiccup ofcourse, basked in the positive reactions he received, he'd daresay they had been the happiest days of his life. Basking in the attention and adoration of the village, and living out his dreams with Toothless. They bonded in a way no one would be able to take away from them, they flew together, ate together, snuck into the village together so Hiccup could fix their flight gear, they sometimes even napped together. But he was always happiest knowing that this dragon had his back, that he would be there if he needed him.

Happiness however, is a very feeble and fleeting thing. It didn't last long before Hiccup had to face reality again when the elder had chosen him, HIM, out of everyone, to slay a dragon, his first dragon, in front the entire tribe! And all under the careful watch of the Chief, he hadn't even told him yet!

Hiccup was torn between his duties and his moralities. He had to kill that dragon in the morning, but he didn't have the heart to do it. Not after it had been saved by a dragon. But what would they say? What would his father say, he doubted he would ever be able to look at him ever again were he to forfeit. He knew that going back to being the town's Useless was out of the question, he simply couldn't! After every thing that happened in the past few days he couldn't go back to slumping his shoulders, to stumble through misery and to be shunned again. Even thinking about it nearly drove him mad.

It was then that the idea of fleeing, leaving the island had bashfully announced itself in his head. Enthusiastically ringing every bell in his mind, making it really hard to ignore.

He doubted his plan... no scratch that, something so irrational couldn't be called a plan. It was rather a thought, one he didn't even fully think through! But the thought of running away was so tempting, and seemed like the perfect sollution back then.

Even after all this time, it still hurt Hiccup to have left them so shamefully. His dad, Gobber, Astrid (even if she never showed any sign of caring about him at all). He sometimes wandered back to Berk in his mind. Imagining his climb to the top of the cliff, the mead hall and the happy burly vikings making a big scene each and every night, the deep woods and the cove. He even missed the forge! Nostalgia and a mixture of emotions left him feeling bittersweet every time.

Funny how things were the exact opposite now. He was happy, instead of miserable, he was on the other side of the horizon, accepted, and surrounded by people who actually understood him and loved him for who he was. He had left Hiccup the Useless heir of Berk far behind him. In his place was now, Hiccup Horendous Haddock, Dragon Master, and the kindest leader of the world's biggest group of nomad dragon riders.

Their lives were peacefull.

* * *

 **Just a quick Prologue for you guys. Just so you know, the biggest part of this story will be away from Berk, it is how I imagined things could have gone for Hiccup had he actually left (and not turn evil or mad or hungry for Berk's destructio )**

 **I tried to make something new and used Hiccups love for adventure and traveling to build the fundamentals for this story. I hope you'll like it!**

 **Edit: I tried to take out as many grammar mistakes as I could find. If any of you were to find anything I missed or think something sounds weird and should be changed let me know and I'll take care of it.**


	2. Chapter 1

The sun was well out already, the noises of playing children and content dragons were filtered through the thick canvas of Hiccup's tent, making them sound faraway and left him be in his peaceful sleep for once. His face was burried into his pillow, his arms securely tucked under it. His expression was one of pure relaxation as his shoulder slowly rose and fell with each sleepy breath he took.

Two shadows were casted on the tent, right near the entrance. One was distinctly human whereas the other was obviously dragon-shaped. They were huddled together as the human nearly whispered.

"Really? Still in here?" Her voice was soft and feminine and laced with amusement. Only the Gods knew wether that amusement was ill natured or not. She was cooed by a crooning Toothless who beckoned her to go inside and wake his rider for him. The tent was too small for the poor Night fury to bust in there himself and show his discontentment.

The girl, who had apparantly never heard of subtlety threw the tent flap to the side, throwing in harsch rays of sunlight that made Hiccup groan softly in protest.

"Get up stupid." She called lovingly and jumped right on top of him with the force of a hundred dragons, forcing every ounce of air RIGHT out of his body. He made the funniest sound that was lost between a groan, a wheeze and a girlish squeek. "Oh hello there!" The girl muttered in a happy surprise, leaving a trail of sweet butterfly light kisses on his naked shoulder as she processed that Hiccup wasn't wearing any garments. "Sexy pajamas." She added as she made herself comfortable using Hiccup as her personal matress.

Hiccup let out a deep rumble that sounded like laughter. "Sybill.." he groaned in protest. "Get off of me you heavy Gronckle!"

This earned him a bunch of chuckles to erupt from the girls throat. He had come to get used to her ambushes, to which she insisted was her way of loving people. It never stopped to surprise him that her affections could knock down a full grown dragon of any species.

"Toothless wants to see you," she added, brushing his hair away from his ear. "He's growing impatient you know."

Hiccup then shoved the girl off of him unceremoniously as he got up, stretching his joints untill they cracked. "Oh I'm sure he is!" He retorted, masaging the numb feeling from his left foot. "Why else would he send you?" He threw a piece of cloth at Sybill's head, knowing by now she was looking at him. This made her laugh only harder at the poor boy who quickly hoisted himself into a pair of pants before he was knocked down again by the giggling mess wrapped around his back. "Oh you big prude,"

Hiccup was overcome with annoyance and huffed at her, "Okay, you've gotta stop doing that," he sighed, eventually deciding it wasn't worth the aggravation and deep down he knew she meant no harm. Sybill, like many of the other people who traveled with him, were wild cards and unpredictable but they had hearts of gold. Each and every one of them.

Toothless really grew impatient with them by now, and let out a growl that would have been a sigh of exasperation had it been produced by a human being. Without further a do Sybill decided to leave the two males to their own devices, thinking Toothless wouldn't hesitate to set the tent on fire if Hiccup didn't come out soon.

"I'll save you some lunch," she told him before she had left.

"I missed breakfast?" He was answered with a few fading sniggers.

Within a few minutes Hiccup was finally out of his tent and was greeted by Toothless who had already dragged the trunk that contained their dragon riding gear from behind the tent. Looking impatient and expectingly at the same time as his eyes kept shifting between Hiccup and the trunk.

"And good morning to you too bud," Hiccup kneeled next to the Nightfury to give him a few good scratches behind his ears, attempting to distract the dragon. Ot worked so he went down to his neck untill Toothless had rolled over as Hiccup stroked his belly with affection.

"You big impatient lizard," His voice adopting a playful accusing tone, earning him a defiantly amusing glance from the dragon. "Ohohoh I know that look! You think you can take on this amount of raw viking and muscle? There will be consequences!" Hiccup went for his middle as soon as Toothless sat up straight again and wrapped his lean arms around the dragon's belly. "Oh yeah, you think you can handle this?" He tried, in vain, to push the black Nightfury over. "You giving up already bud!" Toothless, who was not impressed at all, simply fell forward, taking the viking down with him. A deep rumbling, also known as Toothless' way of laughter, shook through his throat. Really the two were so much alike on so many levels.

Hiccup surrendered soon after, struggling and failing to escape from the dragon's grasp. "Awh come on, get off me!" Toothless wouldn't budge though. "Okay, I get the point, you win alright! Happy?" The look he received told him Toothless was mildly satisfied by the exclamation.

"You know, we could spend all day lying here, with me telling you how superior and good gracious you are, or we could do some actual flying!"

The dragon perked up at those words and immediately went for the trunk again. His big green eyes telling him he wanted to go for a flight, right now in fact! No discussion possible. All previous quarrels forgotten at the promise of flying.

Hiccup could never deny him his wish to go flying, somewhere he still felt guilty that the downed Night fury could no longer fly on his own. But with shared enthusiasm he began to saddle the dragon who helped him whenever he needed to, so in less then five minutes the two of them were gone and up into the air.

As always happiness and adrenaline and the undeniable sense of freedom took immediate possession of their bodies and souls and filled all of their senses. It wasn't long before their minds joined together as they flew in perfect synch. One always knew what the other wanted to do before they had even thought of it, it always felt natural and when they flew, they always became one being, one single organism that worked in utmost perfection.

With increasing speed they cut through the air like a blade, a loud whistle filled their ears, the wind slapped them in the face and blew the tears from their eyes , telling them just how fast they went. Toothless had the time of his life, with steady climbs up into the morning sky they went straight through the clouds and were met with bright sunshine. They enjoyed a few moments of peace before diving straight down, Toothless his wings were firmly tucked to his body as they fell hard from the skies. Their voices completely lost in the wind.

With only the subtlest adjustment did his tail fin open up together with his own and with the sharpest of turns they flew horizontal again with the ocean underneath them. Hiccup let Toothless lead their flight and he admired the way the dragon's mind could conjure up the strangest and most dangerous of movements just to get a kick out of it. One of them included him flying upside down and dipping Hiccups head into the salt water. They flew into multiple loops, a turn here, a turn there, and oh so many climbs to the sky beyond the clouds. Right there, that particular point between the ground and the heavens is where the two of them felt at their best, where they felt at home.

"Alright bud, nice and easy now." Toothless hummed with agreement and stretched his wing as Hiccup repositioned his tail fin so the two of them could peacefully glide through the sky. He released his feet from the peddles and lay down on the warm body of Toothless, his head in the dragon's neck and his arms spread wide, resting gently on the wings. The dragon cooed in contentment as his rider lay there on the saddle, simply enjoying the rest of their flight together.

Back on the ground Hiccup removed the saddle from Toothless and the dragon immediately went for the tall lush grasses a few feet away to roll over and over and over untill it was completely flat. With a sigh the dragon lay down its head and closed his eyes and crooned as it stretched his strong, black paws so he could lie more comfortably.

Hiccup gently put his hand on his head, to which Toothless opened his eyes to him again.

"I'll bring you some food later," Hiccup promised with a fond smile. The dragon leaned into his hand with affection before ushering him away, the sooner he left the sooner he'd be back with food anyway.

First Hiccup brought the gear back to his tent, carefully putting it away, making a mental note to give it a nice clean up after he and Toothless had eaten. Maybe he'd even make a second flight tonight, the clear sky promised a soft evening and he was sure Toothless would love it.

As he strode through camp he was greeted by both people and dragons, stopping occasionally for a small chat and scratch for the dragons. He looked at each and everyone with the same amount of fondness, looks they genuinely returned. He was joined by a tall, lanky man who was actually only a few years older then himself. A broad smile on his face as he came to walk beside Hiccup, a few Terrible Terrors eagerly followed them as they made their way to the cooking area.

"Hiccup!" The man called. "I see you finally stumbled out of bed!" Firmly slapping his back. Hiccup had to brace himself, Robin may have been thinner than he was but possessed at least twice his strength. "You missed a very fine lunch my friend, the cooking team really outdid themselves today! Of course I ate your portion too, since you were gone."

Hiccup gave a small laugh and wrapped his arm around the man's shoulder. "I'd sure like to have seen you try Robin, but we all know you're no match for the cooking team!"

"It's not as if Sybill would actually let me anyway," Robin playfully shoved Hiccup, and received a well-meant punch in the arm. "Someone really ought to confiscate that wooden spoon of hers, whacking poor people's head in."

"That would be just you Robin,"

"Always poor Robin." The man sighed dramatically. "Especially after all the trouble I've gone through to get this camp on the move, it is simply preposterous!"

"How far are we on preparations anyway?" Hiccup asked, suppressing the urge to roll his eyes at Robin's drama queen attitude. Robin could be a complete idiot from time to time, but that didn't take away the fact that he was one of the best people you could have around. Even with all of the man's antics and crazy stunts and melodramatic behavior Hiccup never ceased to trust him.

"If we keep up the pace we should be ready first thing tomorow morning." Rodin quickly informed him on the stats of camp, the cooking team would be the last to finish as they would prepare they're last dinner on this island as well as small packages of food for the following day. All of the tents, aside from Hiccup's, had been wrapped up and put away, the field was nearly clear and right now they were busy cleaning up the remains of a few dozen campfires and fishing for the dragons. They had a long day of travel ahead of them.

The bustling sound of clanking dishes and female voices chatting away filled the air as the two of them walked into the camp's improvised kitchen. Stone plates had been laid out to dry in the sun, and a handful of people were busy scrubbing out the bigger cooking pots, Hiccup noticed Sybill somewhere in the back as she ducked back into the big tin pot she was cleaning. He gently knocked on the metal pot and was met with warm brown eyes that started to smile when she spotted the two of them.

"Hello there," she greeted. "How was your flight?"

No matter how many times she heard him say the same thing over and over again, she always had the genuine interest to ask about it.

"He came for the food Sybill," Robin put in.

The girl popped up next to Robin and playfully pocked his belly.

"I assume you came for the same thing?" She asked, eyes glinting with amusement.

Robin raised his hands, smiling in defeat. "You know me."

Sybill laughed kindly at him. "You're always hungry aren't you? Alright, just this once, I'll feed you!" She grabbed Robin's hand and beckoned Hiccup to follow her too. She sat them down at an improvised table overlooking the ocean and gave Hiccup a big plate of steaming food.

"Oi!" Robin exclaimed. "He got more then I did!"

"It's his first meal of the day you dummy," Sybill softly smacked the back of Robin's head. "Besides," she kissed his crown as she put a plate of left overs in front of Robin's nose. "He's my favorite." She then ran off again to finish her clean up duties.

Robin turned back to Hiccup who was smiling from ear to ear, looking rather smug. "You heard that? I'm her favorite."

Robin scoffed at him and dug into his own food. "She's just crushing on you because you saved her life."

"What can I say Robin?" Hiccup asked, faking a look of innocence. "Saving damsels in distress is what I do!"

"And yet you failed to get a girlfriend Haddock, I can't believe you!" Robin retorted, throwing a small strip of fish to the Terrors that had been ogling at his plate with hungry eyes.

A painful pang of regret shot through Hiccup's chest as he thought back to a certain beautiful blonde back on Berk. He could only imagine what the years had done to enhance her. Whenever he thought of Astrid he almost wanted to leave everything behind again just so he could see her.

He was always stopped by shame and a different kind of guilt. He couldn't leave, there were people who needed him, people he actually and genuinely loved. He was also met with fear at how Astrid and everyone else, especially his father the Chief, would react. Would they see him as a coward? Or worse. A traitor for abandoning them?

Robin noticed Hiccup's mind had set sail to memories of his past, and regretted his words, knowing he had set on the train of thought that had produced the pained expression he was currently wearing.

He grabbed the boy's hand and held it warmly with his own. "Oi, Hiccup, stop thinking, stop right there!" Robin demanded, not liking to see him like that. His voice turned deadly serious and his eyes gained a look of compassion as well as determination. "Don't go down that road Hiccup, don't pain yourself when you don't have to! I know what you're thinking."

Hiccup smiled bitterly at him. "Sometimes... I wonder if thing's could have been better had I stayed."

"You don't know that." Robin reasoned with him.

"Sometimes I wanted to." Hiccup admitted shamefully. "I can't help but wonder of what could have been if I had stayed on Berk."

"We can spend an eternity wondering about the 'what if's, about the things that could have been if you had stayed. But you mustn't dwell on the past my friend, please! Think of where that descission led you to be, of all the good things you've done!" His big hands squeezed Hiccup's encouragingly. Closing his eyes and bowing his head slightly. "You saved me from execution, I wouldn't be alive if you hadn't been there! Gods! You saved Sybill from a miserable life of slavery, you taught all of us what it meant to be happy and to be in charge of your own life! You gave us our freedom!"

Robin's words released a flood of emotions to erupt within Hiccup's chest, tightening the skin around his torso, making it a little hard to breathe. He felt warm and cold at the same time, filled with happiness and stung slightly with self loathe for his selfishness. He took Robin's warm words to heart and wiped the tears from his eyes before they spilled. He choked on a thank you and returned the gentle squeeze to Robin's hands before releasing them, trying to focus on his lunch again but finding it hard to swallow.

Two pints of water were held in front of their faces, Sybill met their eyes with the same amount of tears.

"Did you hear?" Hiccup asked, slightly anxious.

She shook her head fervently. "No," she told truthfully, wiping her face with her sleeve. "But I could tell, so! How are my two babies doing?" Her voice turned silent, fading into a whisper as she held tightly onto their hands. As if afraid they'd disappear if she let go of them.

It broke Hiccup's heart to see her shed tears. He leapt from his chair opening his arms for her.

"Come here," he whispered softly. She took a moment to look at Robin before she let go of his hand and instead wrapped her arms around him and buried her face into his chest, hiding her tears from the rest of the world.

"Damn it Haddock you made her cry! I'm gonna have to make you pay for that!" Robin cursed, a soft attempt to lighten the mood. It worked and drew a sad but true laugh from Sybill, the girl detached herself from Hiccup, gently stroking his cheek before sitting down.

The conversation was slow and even a little painful after that, but they eventually found a pace in which all three of them felt comfortable and Hiccup felt like a thousand years worth of stress had just been lifted from his shoulders.

As the rest of the day progressed Hiccup decided to mix with the newer people who had joined them only recently. Most of them were young children and he wanted to make them feel at home in their tribe. To let them know they were officially part of the family now, that everything bad they had known or felt could be left behind.

The smallest had the fewest troubles integrating into their new life, easily accepting the new rhythm and relieved to leave the shadows of their pasts behind them. The hardest nuts were the people who were his age when he had left Berk. Those who had a clear understanding of what abandonment felt like, the ones with trust issues, those who had been touched by bitterness and hopelessness.

He tried his best to help them all, but he knew from experience that they just needed love and time. Two things he had alot of and was always willing to give.

That night, after another flight like he had promised Toothless, he sat around the last bonfire, watching as people danced to music. He saw Robin playing an instrument, showing his talents off to the ladies, drawing a grin to his face. He saw Sybill, dancing with a few of the little kids, all of them wearing flower crowns, Sybill's work without a doubt. Everywhere he looked around him he saw smiles and heard laughter. His longing for Berk that afternoon seemed irrational and stupid to him now, now that he looked at what he had created with his own two hands, he was filled with new positive energy and asked a shy looking ten-year-old if she would do him the honor of dancing with him. He saw her face light up and decided that everything he had gone through was worth it to see hope be born on their faces. Together they turned from spectators into participants and fully indulged into the mass that was nothing but pure happiness, energy and most of all, freedom!

* * *

 **So I hope you enjoyed what would have been the quickest update in my entire life. It probably won't happen again xD although I will promise you that I will give this story an end for you guys.**

 **I learned from many fanfics that introducing alot of OC's at the same time is especially boring and is, if writen very badly, the usual thing that slaughters a story. In the same way bad gramar and lousy plots can slaughter a fic. I can reassure you that Robin and Sybill will be the only major OC's I will introduce you to. So you'll have to make do with these two idiots. Every other unknown character probably won't be even named and will only appear for a short amount of time.**

 **Sybill and Robin serve an actual purpose, they are gonna help me (and Hiccup) to move this story forward and to build up other characters.**

 **The first official chapter was mainly filler and meant to give you a slight idea of how Hiccup feels about his run from Home, where he is now and who he is with. I seriously hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I will see all of you next time!**


	3. Chapter 2

Whenever the nomads decided to jump in the deep and travel to new lands, they tried to prepare for nearly any situation or problem conceivable. It took Hiccup and Robin days to pick a route, pinpoint landing spots for short term breaks or one night camp-outs. Hiccup, being the safety god himself, could never press enough on the importance of evading possible enemy territories. It sometimes drove Robin insane, but he always accepted and respected Hiccups final decisions, knowing it was for the benefit of their group.

And to safely guide a flock of no less then twenty dragons and thirty passengers, plus luggage, it meant several days of long-term, slow-paced flying. During these travels Hiccup had to wake up earlier then usual, an hour or two before sunrise so Toothless could get his crazy energy out of his system and convert it into loopings and tight turns or even upside-down maneurves. Robin was usually awake by the time Hiccup got back and would always boast about how happy he was to have a super lazy and fat Gronckle instead of a Night Fury who turned out to be an adrenaline junky.

Robin's Gronckle was absolutely massive, and, like he had said, incredibly lazy. The dragon never growled, and it's purr sounded like the rattling of old engines, the deep rumbling sound of a Volcano almost ready to burst. Never moving an inch unless it was to eat, roll over or breathe.

He had named him Big ol' Buff, hinting to it's obvious size. And had a beautiful color similar to crushed pepper. It was one of the friendliest creatures Hiccup, or anyone in particular, had ever come across.

Hiccup, obviously, was the leader of their pack, him and Toothless flying up front and his closest friends following closely behind. Everyone else was safely tucked behind them and some had doubled up on a few of the stronger dragons to even out the numbers. Right now they were on their way to the fourth stop already of their trip, which was a small town at sea rhumoured to possess a flourishing trading port. Most things they needed they could find around them, wood to burn or plants to eat and fresh water to drink. But it was the luxury products, such as fabrics, medicine, fine leather or a blacksmith to give their gear and weapons a small fix, that could only be found in a city.

The shapes of their town of destination started to rise in the distance and the whole group settled on a clearing not too far from the village. Hiccup had learned a valuable lesson quite some time ago, that if you wanted to be welcomed into a city, DON'T land your dragon anywhere near a town. People tended to freak out at the sight of monstrous, fire-breathing lizardss descending upon their poor homes and would scatter faster than ashes in the wind. Resulting in unnecessary panick and no supplies to go with.

So as soon as they landed Hiccup started to give instructions to a group of strong men and maidens, also known as the guards of the group, they were their first line of defense and maintained the basic structure of order in camp. As usual no one was to leave camp untill they had completely settled down and had set up their base rules. Poor Hiccup was very tired and he was in no mood to organize another search party for lost children.

After that a small group was sent out to fish, the dragons had flown exceptionally far today so a little treat would be in order as a thank you. Within half an hour their camp was starting to take shape, the tents were set up again since they would be staying here for three days before taking off again, and the young viking figured he could get some well-deserved shut eye now. He yawned, made quick do to remove Toothless's gear, and fell down under the shade of an old oak tree. Sighing in contentment as Toothless plopped down beside him with a thud, shaking the ground, and rolled over a few times before deciding he was comfortable as well. Hiccup chuckled and was soon wrapped in a pair of black dragon wings, shielding from light and sound. It never ceased to surprise him how well his dragon could read him and knew how to adapt himself to please his rider. It was under the safe cover of his big black wings where the young man found peace and relaxed, nearly slipping into the dreamscape and catch up on some much needed sleep.

"Oi! Haddock, you sleepin'?" He was roughly pulled back by Robin's voice, assaulted by light as the man lifted one of the wings to reveal the viking curled up against his dragon, earning a startled then annoyed glare from said viking and dragon. He was met with amused blue eyes and freckles smiling at him.

Hiccup sighed in exasperation.

"I was just about to actually."

"Oh, my apologies," Robin kneeled next to him giving his shoulder a friendly slap and offering him an apologetic grin. "Just wanted to let you know that me and a few others are going to that town, thought it'd be my good deed of the day to ask you if you needed anything."

"Besides sleep you mean?"

Robin sniggered at Hiccup's sarcasm, the man loved the dry sense of humor to no end.

"Har har har Haddock, I suppose that's a no. But there are people watching the little ones, so you can go get your beauty sleep."

Robin was about to leave before Hiccup called after him.

"Try to find out how these people feel about big, fire-breathing lizards will you?"

After that Hiccup was gently wrapped up again, enjoying the dark and the nice warmth inside this little cocoon. His subconscious mind detached itself from the vessels of his body and in his dreams he flew among the dragons, headed in no particular direction really. Right now he was just one with the winds and skies letting them show him the way.

It wouldn't be the first time for him to dream about this particular setting. He loved dragons and he loved flying, he always took joy out of these dreams, happy about how his subconscious knew him so well.

He was awoken a few wee hours later, the sun had set already, cloaking his surroundings in the fading pink and purple colors of twilight. The strange rumbling sound of Toothless laughing reached his ears and he looked up to find his Night Fury enjoying a nice belly rub. He instantly recognized the ash-blonde mop of curls, joyfully bouncing around Sybill's smiling face. Wait... was she blowing raspberries on his belly?

The sound of a fat fart made the dragon make sounds he had never heard before, Toothless almost seemed out of breath, making poor choking sounds of laughter. It made Hiccup laugh harder then he had in the past few days, earning the attention of both of them.

She looked surprised, then delighted and ended the series of emotions with an apologetic stare.

"Did we wake you?" Her voice small and eyes big, Hiccup could easily forget how young she actually was.

He got up, stretched his stiff limbs, it's what he got for sleeping on the ground, and casually walked over to them.

"You did," he admitted, but there was no trail of annoyance or anger to be heard in his voice, the girl and dragon both relaxed. "But it was for a good cause, pampering my dragon, you'll spoil him like that you know."

"I couldn't help it," her voice was purposely soft, as if she was trying to hold back a bunch of laughs. Her eyes were giving Toothless the 'I-blame-you' look. "He made me do it you know, your dragon can be very persuasive."

"More like stubborn and demanding, if he really wants something he'll bug you crazy." That comment made Toothless sweep Hiccup off of his feet with a flick of his tail.

"I dare to think he disagrees with you," Sybill earned a happy croon from the Night fury who put his head on her lap begging her with his eyes to be petted. The girl immediately fell for this puppy dog trick and spoiled him. "You're nothing but a big bear hug, are you."

"Ohohoho, I see what's going on here, you're turning my own dragon against me young lady." Hiccup pointed a playfully accusing finger at her.

"You're just jealous that he likes me more than you." The girl threw her arms around Toothless his neck and showered his scaly head with kisses.

"I care to beg the difference!"

"Hiccup's right lass! No one likes you more then I do." Sybill was swiftly stolen from the Night fury who growled in protest and Robin's arrival soon ended in a swirl of laughter and flailing limbs. He had flung the girl over his shoulder one arm closing around her waist and the other around her legs. Robin could easily carry the girl everywhere and anytime he wanted, taking complete advantage of their difference in height to tease her about it.

"Robin! Put me down!" Sybill hit the man's back with her tiny fists, not doing any damage being the weak potato she was.

"Not before you feed me woman! The camp is hungry you know." Ah there it was again, food, the main topic of their discussions. "You were only supposed to get Hiccup for dinner, not sneak off to pet dragons!"

"I got distracted!" She protested, feigning innocence.

"Yeah I noticed!" Robin carried her off to the big campfire where dinner was about to be served. He stopped to look back at Hiccup. "You coming too, or do I have to save a plate for you?"

"No, no I'm comming! I'll catch up with you in a minute." He waved them off and watched the two of them leave, she was back on her own two feet, holding onto the guy's hand, she was leading the way and he happily let her. The sight of them made him feel warm and fuzzy on the inside, knowing deep down that he was part of that silly, loving friendship.

Toothless was either sensing Hiccup's flurry of sentiment or was feeling equally sentimental. The black dragon pushed his nose against Hiccup's shoulder, purring affectionately. His big, green eyes were warm as they looked from the viking to the people around the fire.

"I know bud," Hiccup returned the loving gestures by scratching all of the dragon's favorite places. He knew them by heart and could find them even if blindfolded. "I love them too."

The two of them joined everyone else around the fire soon enough, Hiccup was soon snatched by a couple of girls and young women who needed his opinions on something insignificant. But he wasn't given the chance to answer or say anything for that matter before he was carried off by men of all ages, who were convinced that too much attention from the ladies would go to his head and make him insufferable. Sybill had brought him his dinner, telling him the cooking team had made his favorite meal tonight.

The evening proceeded nicely, people talking, sharing stories, making up stories on the spot to entertain others. His group of people had a source of energy like no one had ever seen before, they glowed in the darkness, like stars in the sky and candles on the table illuminating something great. The older ones carried the children to their beds as soon as their heads started to drop and after a while only a few people were left around the fire, creating a nice and lazy atmosphere.

Robin had snatched the empty place next to Hiccup, Toothless had occupied his other flank, absent-mindedly stroking the light curls of Sybill who was snoozing contently on his lap. His eyes were glued to her peaceful face a faint smile of adoration preoccupying his lips. Hiccup quickly stirred the fire and added a log to fuel it before sitting back down, there was a sense of tension in the air that had been hanging around Robin ever since he had returned from the village. At first Hiccup had not noticed it, thinking nothing much of the frowns that sometimes crept up on his friend's face before he quickly dropped them. He had been awfully quiet during dinner as well, being the usual loud-mouth and prancer it started to nag him a little.

Hiccup had tried to get the man to talk but her had waved it off, signalling him that now was not the right time, later would be better. So here they were, around a nearly empty campfire, about to break the ice and spill the beans.

"So," The young viking broke the nearly deafening silence, even though he hadn't spoken that loud it still sounded like the crack of a thunderbolt. He hesitantly looked over his shoulder to watch Robin's reaction. "Are you going to tell me what happened or should I activate my mind powers to get it?"

Robin didn't respond, which started to worry Hiccup a little, usually Robin would appreciate his 'special' sense of humor. It could only be deadly serious if he remained this quiet.

He sighed. "That bad huh?"

The blonde man next to him tore his eyes from the sleeping girl to meet his gaze. "It's not bad perse, but it is definitely worrisome."

"Why what happened?"

"That's what me and my mates would've liked to know. When we arrived in town, it seemed like it had just been under an attack of some sorts. It was so quiet, there were no people! None at all, but their things were still there, some houses looked like someone had been there just a minute ago. As if they just left whatever it was that they were doing and disappeared into thin air."

"Well that sure is odd," Hiccup's voice was soft, his mind working a double shift as it tried to wrap around what Robin was telling him. Trying to find some sort of answer to this peculiar situation.

"What's even odder and what worries me the most, is that some places were absolutely wrecked! Smashed windows, shattered furniture, Hiccup some houses had completely been burned down!" His voice was getting louder by the end and he stiffened painfully when Sybill started to squirm a little, making soft noises of protest and half asleep mumbling before resuming her nap.

They continued their conversation in hushed voices.

"Do you think this could have been the work of dragons maybe?"

"I don't think so, but I'd have to see it for myself to be sure about it."

"Hiccup, I think we should leave again, whatever happened here is terrible yes, but what if whatever or whoever did this is still around? Their next target could be this camp! We could be in danger already just by being here."

"No!" Hiccup had blurted it out before he had even considered things. He didn't think when he continued. "We're staying."

"What?" Robin looked at him like he had lost his mind.

"We have to find out what is going on here, maybe there is someone still alive in that town, maybe there is something we can do to help!"

"But what if there's not? Think Haddock! Something awful could have happened here, pirates, disease maybe even a dragon attack. We could be endangering the lives of our people by staying here!"

"You don't have to come with me Robin, me and Toothless can check it out one last time, you can prep everyone in this camp to leave tomorow before nightfall. If I find nothing we can go again!"

This ended with a series of half harted chuckles from Robin who shook his head fervently. As if he had just had the stupidest thought in a life time. His deep blue eyes spoke volumes. "Do you really think I'd let you go alone? Hiccup, sometimes I really wonder if your brain is as big or as clever as you claim it to be because, boy, you sure come with the stupidest ideas you know that?"

"It's.. kind of what I do." Hiccup shrugged innocently.

Robin slapped his back, all friendly but super hard and painful anyway. "No if you are going to endanger your life to try and pull off something stupid, I'm going with you and pull off whatever madness with you!"

"But I.."

"End of discussion!" Robin would have made a great viking, firm and stubborn as a rock.

The smile that crept up Hiccup's face was involuntary but a true one nonetheless. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

"But," And with that word all of Robin's bravado crumbled away in a heartbeat. "Before we go and get ourselves killed, what exactly are we looking for?"

"Someone, a person, or anything at all that can tell us what happened out there or see if we can help in any way." Hiccup's mind started to form a swift plan of action for the morning.

"Oi! I know that look! Stop thinking Hiccup, this is not the time," Robin gently shoved him, clearing his mind again. "You ought to go fetch some sleep or else you won't be able to keep your eyes open when you need to!

That said and done they bid the others a good night and headed to the seclusion and the quiet that was Robin's tent. Hiccup's tent had not been set up yet so he had to make do with sharing Robin's, not that the big man minded it a single bit. With all madness aside and to put long stories short, his first ever sleepover had been an emergency crash in Robin's tent a few years ago.

He and Toothless had been on guard duty that night and in all confusion he had accidentally stumbled into the wrong tent, not knowing of the mistake untill early morning when the Nightfury had scared the living crap out of Robin by pouncing on his tent like a crazy hellhound.

After that it had become a bit of a habit for them to share a tent, if they weren't it meant that Robin had enough of Toothless early plans for the Viking and wanted to sleep in for a change.

"Haddock, you go ahead, I've got to put this little monkey to bed first." He gestured to the little girl who had latched both her arms and legs around Robin. Her voice was drowsy as she protested.

"I'm no monkey!" She lifted her head from his shoulder so she could look at him. "I ain't got a tail, do I?" She twisted her body awkwardly to check, maybe she thought she was asleep and dreaming. So a tail could be very possible.

Low chuckled rumbled through Robin's chest as he landed a sweet peck on her nose. "Let's go get you safely tucked in before you hurt yourself."

"Robin, can I sleep with Marina tonight? I ... don't want to be alone."

"She's on guard duty if I'm correct, so I'll make you a deal. I'll carry you to Marina's tent and stay with you until you either fall asleep or until Marina's shift is over."

The little girl mumbled something Hiccup couldn't pick up on. But he took it as his cue to head towards his own bed.

"Okay bud, wake us up before sunrise okay?" The dragon just blinked at him and Hiccup took that as a yes.

The young viking stumbled into the tent and dropped himself on the mattress without even bothering to take off his boots, he had to be up in a few hours anyway. When his head touched the pillow he was already off to dreamland. Snoring like a bear.

He didn't notice Robin joining him nearly two hours later, completely exhausted and clumsily going about like a drunk zombie but with this incredibly goofy smile splitting his face.

The night proceeded slowly and dawn crept up on them like a ghost. It would be a few more hours untill sunrise so under normal circumstances the two lads would have been able to catch some more propper sleep. But this was no normal morning.

Out of the blue the ginormous Groncle came and completely destroyed their tent and any other that had been in his way. His massive body crushing the two men and distressed howls and whines woke up half of camp, the dragon's roaring made the other dragon feel restless and caused quite a bit of havoc. Total chaos and panic had struck upon camp before anyone had even had a chance to wake up properly.

Robin cursed like a sailor as he tried to calm Buff down, this was so unlike him! Buff was the embodiment of laziness and relaxation itself! Whatever could have happened to ignite such strange behavior?

"Buff!" The man tried, jumping in front of the dragon to try and catch it's attention. "Calm down would you!"

Toothless had scurried to Hiccup's side in the meantime, who was trying to reel in the other dragons. The Nightfury watched his rider with amusement at his futile attempts and decided to cut things short by firing his famous plasmablast, people and dragons alike were thrown off guard and silenced by the sudden wave of heat and loud bang of purple flames.

"That's one way of doing things... thanks bud!" The black dragon crooned softly at the positive reaction he got from Hiccup.

"You big lump of idiocy! What was that all about?" Robin was at a loss of words, still trying to get the big red Gronckle to calm down still. It kept jumping about, shaking the ground and roaring it's head off.

"What's gotten into him?"

The answer resulted with a firm whip of the big bouldered tail of Buff, throwing his rider onto his back and running off, knocking a few poor guys off their feat.

"Toothless quickly! We have to follow them!" Hiccup had already jumped on Toothless's back trying to lock his foot into the pedal of his flight gear. Only to realise he had not saddled his dragon yet! He growled in frustration and his mind started to race for a sollution. "I'm sorry bud."

He climbed off again and headed for a nearby Nadder.

"Asher, I'm taking your dragon for now, please saddle Toothless in the meantime and follow after me when you're done!" He quickly instructed the Nadder's owner who then hurried off with the Nightfury (who looked back at Hiccup with reluctance in his eyes.) to get him ready to go up in the air.

"Hiccup where are you going!" The goung man had been about to take off but a scared little voice called him back to reason. He turned his head to meet the big scared eyes of a very young boy.

He hopped off again, crouching down in front of the young lad to reach his eye level.

"I'm going after them Theo, don't worry though I'll be back soon!" He pressed his hand firmly on the little boy's shaking shoulder and squeezed some encouragement into him. He stood back up to meet the eyes of the others who were looking at him with mixed emotions. Some were confused, others frightened, and he knew they needed their leader to clear things up.

"Everyone, please listen carefully!" He raised his voice slightly to be heard in the back and tried to sound as positive as possible. "There is no reason to panic! There is no reason to be afraid either, if you want to help me please do so by staying calm and listen to those in charge!" He thanked the gods for keeping his fear out of his voice. "I am going after Robin and Buff and I'm asking you to stay here, I won't be gone for long. I promise!"

The Nadder, whose name turned out to be Spritewing, took off as soon as the young viking had settled behind it's head. The dragon instinctivily knew what direction to head off to and in no time had they caught up with Robin and his mad Gronckle.

But not before they were greeted by a city on fire and people running about, crying out for help.

* * *

 **And after the fastest update in my entire life I hereby (somewhat ashamed) present you the longest wait for an update ever! I sincerely appologize for the long wait and if most of this chapter feels like filler. But I wanted to get the travel asthetics down properly.**

 **Also don't worry about the few new names that were thrown around in this chapter, like I said in the last chapter, only Sybill and Robin will play major parts in this story. Everyone else you may forget about.**

 **A funny fact for you guys. Did you know that, technically speaking, Nadders are actually Wyverns, not Dragons! If they have two wings and two legs they are specified as a Wyvern.**

 **As always I hope you enjoyed what little bits I gave you and let's keep our fingers crossed for more excitement in the next part.**


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